Tag Archives: Chrome OS Netflix

…And so how am I supposed to print on my Chromebook? Judging from this Chromium Authors issue submission, it looks like over the past week that the Google Cloud Print Service is going to be removed. I’m currently running Chrome Stable and Chrome Canary for the Mac and I can see Google Cloud Print on both browser instances.
Yet on my Chromebook I can still see the service in the “Under the Hood” tab in Settings. The fact that the issue submission says that the “Cloud Print component app should not show up on Chrome OS.” is a bit concerning to me to say the least.

No one every really said that Google Cloud Print is a slam dunk and ready for primetime. But this really blows out a lot of functionality when you consider that you might not be able to print from a Chromebook and you cannot watch Netflix.

I know I’m being critical here, but let’s be serious. Without some of these functions Chrome OS is likely not as useful as perhaps advertised. I get the feeling that the launch of the commercialized Chrome OS platform for Chromebooks was rushed into action far more quickly than it perhaps should have been. Am I grateful that they did not hold it off any longer? Yes, I am. But that still doesn’t take away from the drawbacks that the operating system is experiencing.

Since Chromebooks don’t have a printer port, I would see that removing Cloud Print, even temporarily, is a major problem. This would be especially true in a business environment. While I believe that there is serious potential for Chrome OS in the enterprise, the harsh reality is that those types of users have the disposition where they will need to print things whenever they can.

How do you feel about the overall development and drawbacks of Chrome OS since its commercialize launch? Let the discussion begin in the comments!

UPDATE: As it turns out, the answer asked in the headline for this post is a resounding “no”. It’s not that Google Cloud Print is being held off, as in the comments below you’ll see that it is actually the Cloud Print Proxy service. “They’re simply preventing cloud proxy code from being included with Chrome OS builds, this isn’t turning cloud print off on Chrome OS.”

Hot discussion going on in Chromebook Central, the Google Group for the Cr-48 and now the Chromebook. (Click image to enlarge)

It looks like the development channel of on the Samsung Chromebook has “about:flags” for a Netflix plug-in. Apparently, the plugin isn’t available on the development channel for Cr-48s. This might be due to the Cr-48s hardware limitations. The Chromebook uses a dual core Atom processor while the Cr-48s use a single core Atom processor.

According to accounts in the group, the plug-in isn’t working yet, but looks like we are closer than ever for Netflix to work on Chrome OS.

This upcoming Netflix plugin will enable the streaming of movies via HTML5 technology, rather than Microsoft’s Silverlight software, which requires the user to download and install it onto their computer -something you’ll only be able to do in limited functions with Chrome OS.

Netflix has been working for quite a while to implement HTML5 for its video streaming. Back in December 2010, Netflix stated its plans to implement the technology, convinced it would lead to a better user experience.

John Ciancutti, VP of Personalization Technology at Netflix, explained Netflix’s decision to pursue HTML5 technology in this way: “The technology is delivered from Netflix servers every time you launch our application. This means we can constantly update, test and improve the experience we offer….Our customers don’t have to go through a manual process to install new software every time we make a change, it ‘just happens.’”

The release is conveniently coming in time for the release of the new Chrome OS devices expected to be announced next week at Google I/O.